Hanging by a Thread
by GroovyKat
Summary: Mark orders his team to take a vacation in beautiful Hawaii. As always for the G-Force team, there is no such thing as time off from emergency. Based on the true story of Aloha Flight 243.


I got a sudden flash of inspiration while watching one of my favourite shows: Mayday.

One particular incident involving a Boeing 737 caught my attention and as I watched the whole story unfold and the resulting heroics and investigation, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen it our team was onboard at the time.

This is totally based upon a true story, the flight of Aloha Airlines 243 that goes down as one of the most miraculous and amazing feats of piloting to date...

Please know, that while I totally love aircraft, and would most love to work for the NTSB I really know nothing about flight or flying. If there are inaccuracies, I do apologise. Every major nasty in this fic actually happened on this fateful flight. Well, all except the unconscious pilots -- that team really did kick some ass in their flying on this one!! Kudos to the flight team!

Incidentally, there was only one fatality on the flight, and that was the flight attendant who's lifeless body eventually led to a 737 becoming a convertible...

I hope you enjoy!!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the birds. I do not own G-Force, Spectra, or even the Boeing 737 (although one day…. I just might)

**Aloha Airlines Flight 243**

Vacation times were few and far between for the G-Force team. So few, in fact, that even a simple afternoon off would invariably get interrupted by the call to duty. It was important to the team Commander, then, that his team take every moment available to them when given the opportunity for downtime.

It just so happened that this particular allotment of vacation time fell immediately following a Spectran invasion on the US state of Hawaii. Mark insisted that they all "suit up" in their best beachwear and hit the waves and sights of what could only be termed "Heaven on Earth".

It was one order that none of his team could refuse. They were exhausted and ready to spend the day lounging on beaches or cruising the sights. Tiny had already scouted the area for the best seafood restaurants before the Phoenix had touched down, Keyop had eagerly chirped about the scuba diving, Princess wanted to visit the goddess of the volcano to make a wish, and Jason was ready to just grab a beer and check out the ladies on the beach.

Mark couldn't have been more thrilled that the team was ready to play. The mission had been incredibly taxing on them all, which had been evidenced by minute errors of judgment by each member of G-Force as the final battle raged on. It was at his insistence to the Chief that the team be allowed to play at Centre Neptune's expense. He had the Phoenix docked in a remote hangar at the Hilo airport and demanded that his team move as far away from it as was possible.

That meant taking a civilian aircraft to Honolulu.

Mark wasn't so against taking public transportation of any kind. As a pilot, he did have his moments of unease at having another at the controls of the aircraft, but for the most part he enjoyed the moment of relaxation and pampering that a pretty young woman walking the aisles would offer him – and Aloha Airlines certainly had some pretty girls working for them.

He heard an annoyed, feminine, huff from beside him as he let his eyes follow a leggy Hawaiian stewardess as she strode past. He swept his eyes to Princess and gave her a sheepish smile. "What?"

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Men."

He chuckled at her unhidden jealousy, but held off petting her knee in assurance that he really only had eyes for her. He closed his eyes and leaned back heavily in his seat to await takeoff.

The Boeing 737 rattled and shook as it rumbled along the tarmac for position ready for takeoff. Mark thought nothing of it, however, the aircraft was old and the air thick with sea humidity, a rattle here and there was perfectly normal, especially if the runway was pitted with small holes and cracks. He smiled at the sound of his youngest's voice over the top of the captain's announcement. Keyop was obviously excited to go reef diving; he was on his knees on the seat ahead of Mark to regale Princess with tales of what he wanted to do once they landed in Honolulu. Mark flashed him a warning glare and told him to take his seat and strap in. Keyop begrudgingly complied, but continued to chirp to Jason. Mark used the excited strains of his voice to drown out the high revving of Jet engines as the plane readied to thunder down the runway.

As the g-forces of hard acceleration pressed him into the seat, he felt Princess' hand grip tightly at his knee. He kept his eyes closed, but smiled and petted her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Princess. There are two pilots up front who know more about flying this plane than Tiny and I put together."

She winced slightly. "I know. I just don't like takeoffs."

He rolled his head on the seat's headrest and opened his eyes to give her a gentle stare. He threaded his fingers through hers. "Need me to hold your hand and tell you everything'll be okay?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and tugged her hand from his. "No, thank you," she growled as she folded her arms across her chest and sank slightly in the chair. She rolled her jaw as though to unblock her ears. "There's no need to be smart. I just don't like it."

"Why not?" he asked softly. "It's no different to the Phoenix when she takes off, and it's much less than when she jumps into Space flight."

She angled her head away from him. "I don't like it in the Phoenix, either."

His head tilted at her admission – he honestly didn't know she had a fear of flying. "Perhaps I should take you up in the jet a couple of times to work that fear out of you." He felt the need to add, "You know that flying is the safest way to travel, don't you? Your bike is far more dangerous than an airplane."

"I'm not scared," she whimpered softly. "I just don't like it." She looked back at him. "And anyway. I'm at the controls of my bike when I ride…"

"Oh," he chuckled softly. "It's because you're not in control." He flicked a fingertip on her nose. "You're a control freak."

Her eyes immediately widened as she let out a gasp. "I am not."

"Are too."

"Oh says the Commander of G-Force. Mr. Control himself."

He laughed and put his arm across her shoulder. "Then if I can be comfortable with two unknown people at the controls of a plane, then why can't you?"

She leaned against him. "Because I wouldn't have you being all supportive now, would I?"

His brow flicked, he smiled, he settled in for the flight. In the seat behind him he heard Tiny grumble about not yet being offered any food or drink. The complaint made him smirk; he'd forgotten to inform Tiny that there would be no refreshments on the flight as it was only a 20-minute trip.

In his mind Mark calculated the altitude and airspeed of their plane. He was familiar with the Boeing 737 and her technical statistics. He and Tiny had collectively spent 100 hours on flight simulators for the bird. She was a strong and reliable aircraft with an exemplary record for service. Teething problems with rudder controls and luggage doors had been solved years previous to this flight. It was the most widely used model, and even though there had been many falls from the sky throughout its years in the air, much of them had been pilot error or weather phenomenon – he wasn't greatly concerned.

In all she was a comfortable and reliable craft. If he had to choose from models for a new Phoenix, the 737 would be high on the list of potentials.

He felt Princess snuggle into him further as the plane leveled out at what he assumed was 24,000 feet. There was no need to increase the altitude to 35,000 feet, as was the norm for flight; they simply weren't traveling enough of a distance to justify it. Honestly, they wouldn't have made it to even 30,000 before they'd need to initiate landing procedures.

Years at the controls of his own jet, and years on board the Phoenix, and Mark could accurately estimate that they'd flown approximately halfway toward Honolulu and would probably begin their descent shortly. He tightened his hold on the young woman beside him in wonder if she detested landings as much as she did take-offs. He wasn't really bothered if she was or wasn't, it was a great excuse to hold her in his arms.

One day he'd officially ask her out; to make them more boyfriend/girlfriend than they currently were. Affections and stolen snuggles aside; he really did want the opportunity to actually take her on an official date one day.

Perhaps when they got to Honolulu he just might be able to do that.

His thoughts and plans were suddenly sucked from his mind as he heard the sound of tearing aluminium from above his head. Immediately his hold on Princess tightened. "What the?"

There was no time to let the question settle, or be answered. His eyes shot upward as his world fell into slow motion. The very stewardess he'd been admiring earlier had been shot into the upper bulkhead. All he could see were her hips and legs; both of which were streaked with blood.

He made a move to separate from Princess to lend a hand, but was forced to clutch both Princess and the chair in front of them as the sky suddenly burst into the cabin. His hair thundered around his face and his skin blanched with cold as the situation dawned.

And inside a second, time returned to normal speed.

Initially he had no idea what could possibly have happened to have such high winds and difficulty taking a breath. Around him were the screams of winds and terror. He could smell the stench of burning electronics and leaking hydrolic fluid. He looked up and let out his own startled cry at the realization that the entire first class section of the aircraft were flying in what could only be termed a "convertible".

He flicked his gaze to Princess to ensure she was still with him. He knew of explosive decompression and hoped beyond hope that she had not been a victim to the vacuum of depressurization. She simply stared back at him with wide and horrified eyes.

"Mark?"

He read the absolute terror in her voice as she spoke his name in question. He ran his hands either side of her face if only to confirm her presence, and nodded his assurance he was still with her. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay."

He twisted back to check on Tiny and noticed the big pilot's face was set in a heavy frown. Tiny's complete attention was not on the chaos in the open cabin, but on the sounds of their aircraft. The big man had tuned into the mechanical frequency of each and every mechanism of the plane.

Mark tried desperately to hold back his hair from his face as he looked at Tiny. "She alright?" he asked finally, the subject of the question obviously the craft.

Tiny gave a firm nod, but kept his attention on the sounds noone else could hear. "Mechanically sound, for now, Commander. Can't say much for the structural integrity of it."

"That much is pretty obvious," Mark grunted as he undid his seat belt and fought against the wind to check on the seats in front of him. "Jase, Keyop, you okay?" His eyes flashed in horror to find them both absent. "Oh, shit."

Princess tugged him back to sit beside her. It was obvious she was in terror and needed his reassurance right now – unfortunately he was unable to offer her any.

"Are they okay?" She asked softly, her voice hinting that she already knew the answer to the question.

He swallowed hard and raised his communicator to his lips. "G-Force commander to Keyop and Jason. Guys tell me you're out there."

Jason answered smoothly and in a voice to suggest he was somewhat irritated at the interruption. "Ears on, Mark. The kid and I flew out after the stewardess."

"Are you nuts? We're 24,000 feet up."

There was a slight pause and Keyop responded. "Sometimes we need to be heroes too."

"Are you both okay?"

Keyop answered again. "Yeah. Gotto go. Ground's rising fast."

Princess was mortified. "No, Mark. You can't tell me they're out there. They'll be killed!"

Mark's eyes shot to her and he noticed she was close to complete panic. "Prin, they're okay."

She shook her head. "No, Mark. We're up so high. They won't have the drag to land safely. I know, I've done the physics and …"

He clutched at her upper arms and tugged her a flex of his arms closer to him. "Princess. Take a breath, Sweetheart. They're okay." He watched her heave with quick breaths. "Just calm down. I'm here, Tiny's here. Jason and Keyop are okay, they just needed to save an innocent life just like we have to now."

"We?" She asked suddenly. "What do you mean? Aren't there any pilots?"

Mark found himself unable to answer that question with all honesty. He hadn't thought of that prospect. His hands released their grip on her arms and stroked gently up and down them as he focused on the pitch of the aircraft.

"It's level," he suggested gently. "There needs to be someone up front for the plane to be flying level."

She swallowed hard and dipped her head to move within his field of sight. "Are you sure it isn't just the autopilot?"

He knew that he couldn't honestly answer that question until, or unless, the plane gently banked to one side in search of the closest airport, but felt the need to lie to keep her calm. "I'm sure, Princess. Now can you help the stewardesses and tend to the injured for me?"

She nodded quickly. "Of course."

As she shifted to cross over his knees, a stewardess prowled the aisles in panic.

"Can anyone fly a plane?" She cried as best she could to be heard over the searing winds. "Can anyone fly a plane?"

Princess was half straddled over Mark's thighs and looked down at him with worry. "You and Tiny can handle this girl, right?"

He nodded quickly, relieved that her question showed her far more calm than she had earlier even though there was suggestion of noone at the controls. He nodded and clutched the hand of the stewardess as she passed. "My friend and I can fly this plane," he yelled over the din. "Where are your pilots?"

She clutched his hand with both of hers in absolute relief. "I don't know. I can't communicate with the cockpit."

Princess slid off Mark's knees to stagger into the aisle. It was then that Mark noticed the deep gash on her arm. He looked at his blood stained hand and then back up to her in worry. "Princess?"

"I'm okay," she assured with a flippant wave of her hand. "You and Tiny, just go."

"But?"

"Go."

He unclipped his seatbelt and leaned around the chair to Tiny. "Ever wanted to fly one of these things in real time?" He managed in as confident a manner as he could.

"I'd have preferred the girl was in one piece when I did, but whatcha gonna do?"

Mark took one last look at Princess as he waited to Tiny to fight the winds to stand. "Are you sure you're okay, Prin?"

"Field Medic, remember?" She reminded shortly. "Trust me, I'm fine."

Tiny gave him a hard slap on the shoulder that was more of a shove, and both of them navigated across torn metal toward the cockpit.

"So much for a pleasant vacation," Mark muttered to himself.

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The cockpit wasn't in as much disarray as either Mark or Tiny has initially assumed. There was a partial tear in the bulkhead toward the rear of the cockpit and framework fallen across the main control panel, but in all it looked immediately salvageable.

Mark checked the condition of the captain in his seat. Both the captain and his co-pilot were unconscious in their seats. Their oxygen masks were not affixed and both had clear gashes across their foreheads. Mark ran his hand over his hair and pointed at the co-pilot. "Tiny, got a pulse?"

Tiny pressed his fingers into the carotid artery of the copilot and gave a firm nod. "Strong, but I don't think she'll be waking any time soon."

"Same with the captain," he muttered as he unclipped the shoulder harness. "Let's get these two on the floor and see what we can do about getting this girl down in one piece."

It took only half a minute to clear the seats, but to Mark and Tiny it felt like an hour. Both simultaneously slid into the unoccupied seats and strapped themselves in. Tiny pulled a pair of headphones over his ears as Mark analyzed the control panel.

"She's on auto," Mark breathed as he pulled on his own set of headphones. "Communicate to air traffic control and call a mayday. We need to get this girl down at the closest airfield."

Tiny gave a nod as he watched Mark familiarize himself with the flight controls. "Aloha Air Flight 243 heavy to Honolulu Traffic control. We're declaring an emergency, respond."

The tower answered immediately. "Say again Aloha 243, are you declaring an emergency?"

"That's a big ten, Tower. We've experienced an explosive decompression event, have multiple injuries, both pilots are unconscious and we need to get this lady down as fast as possible."

Mark hovered his hand over the lever for the automatic pilot control and cast his eyes to his teammate. "I'm going to take her off Auto. You make sure you've got hold of that yoke."

The voice from the tower came back before Tiny could answer. "Just to confirm, Aloha 243, you are without the pilots?"

"Big ten on that, Tower."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Are we going to have to waste time repeating every transmission?"

"Want me to tell them to listen very carefully cause I'll say it only once?"

Mark huffed. "No. Let's follow protocol."

"Aloha 243, who is at the controls of the aircraft?"

Tiny smiled. "Two of the best, Tower. You've got the G-Force Commander in the captain's chair and G5 as copilot."

The tower came back again and seemed somewhat oblivious to the fact he was conversing with G-Force personnel. "Do you have experience flying the 737? Will you be able to land?"

Tiny's voice took on a somewhat authoritative tone. "You bet I can get this lady down. I'm gonna need you to clear my airspace and give me some emergency vehicles on the ground. I can't tell ya for sure if she'll make it down in one piece, but she'll get down alright." His eyes fell to Mark's hand as it dropped the lever for the Autopilot. He gave a short grunt as the yoke flicked angrily in his hold.

Mark angled his head to one side as the plane rescinded all control to him. "She feels steady enough, given her condition," he advised softly. "Tell the tower we don't want to have to make any hard banking maneouvres, so just give us the straightest line into the closest airfield."

"Wow, she's hard, Mark," Tiny muttered as he battled with the controls.

"Tell me about it. I'll never complain about the jet when she's feeling bitchy ever again."

Tiny reported back to the Tower. "You guys found us a solution yet? We'd really like to get her down as soon as possible, we have multiple serious injuries up here."

"Copy that, Aloha 243. Emergency have been notified and we're redirecting you to Kahului Airport in Maui. Do you need an escort or for us to talk you down?"

"Nah," Tiny managed inside a hard grunt as the control battled against him. "The commander and I have it in hand. Just give us the co-ords and we'll get her on the ground."

Mark growled beside him and grunted in exertion as he strained on the yoke. "God, it feels like manual converstion." He glanced at the control panel. "Do we have all engines online?"

No sooner had he uttered the question, and the plane shuddered violently on the left hand side. Mark couldn't help but vainly look behind him as though peering out of his own jet's window. "Damn, Tiny tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Tiny's answer came inside a message to the Tower. "We've lost an engine. We're going to come in hot, fast, and high. You make sure you've got the whole state's emergency teams on standby."

"Repeat 243, did you say you've lost an engine?"

Mark groaned as he held the yoke with one hand and extended the other to tap in the new destination to the onboard computer. "Tell them if they ask for confirmation one more time on any transmission that I'll make sure Jason fires a missile at them on the next fly-by."

Tiny gave him a look, but did little more than expel a breath. It was because of Mark's threat threat that he remembered the peril both Jason and Keyop were in. "Tower, I need to request the coast guard services. We have three people in the water who need pickup."

"We'll send the salvage teams…"

"Negative," he barked. "You will send the coastguard immediately. In the water are two members of the G-Force squadron and one of the stewardesses. I can assure you all are alive and need rescue."

"Is this a Spectran threat, G5?"

"Not to our knowledge. Looks like something else." He flicked at the engine restart toggle switch in an attempt to refire the engine, and cast his questioning gaze to Mark. "What d'ya think?"

Mark frowned and lightly toyed with the rudder pedals at his feet. "I doubt it. I can't hear that asshole laughing like a maniac at us."

Tiny nodded at that. "Gear down, Mark?"

Mark nodded and lightly banked the plane to line up with the runway. "Yeah, Tiny. Let's hope they're functional."

Tiny leaned forward and yanked down the lever to release the landing gear. Both men watched the lights hopefully. When the indicator lights for only the rear gear lit up Tiny let out a groan. "Oh you have got to be shittin' me. Mark we can't land without nose gear. That's dangerous on a plane without half the roof missing."

"Try it again."

Tiny complied and forced the lever up and then down. Again, the nose gear light remained dead. "Shit!" He pulled the microphone to his mouth. "Add a new problem to the list, tower. We're coming in without nose gear. Repeat, we have no nose gear."

"Can you do a fly-by so we can confirm no nose gear?" The tower requested dutifully.

"Negative, Tower," Tiny replied. "We just want this fine lady on the ground, we don't know how long she'll remain in one piece if we keep her in the air." He pointed up to the window. "There's the runway, Commander. Do you think we've got enough to get her there?"

"Oh we've got enough, more than enough, to get her there, Tiny. I'm more worried about overrunning the runway into the ocean."

Tiny gave a nod. "You know we'll fold up like a damn coke can when we hit the ground, right?"

"Not if we can help it, Big Guy," Mark retorted with a grin to hide his own worry. "We'll get these people home in one piece. You can count on it."

Tiny chuckled. "I'm Tiny, not Princess," he remarked. "No need to bullshit it for me."

"I hope she's okay back there."

Both men held firm on the controls as they lined the plane up with the runway. Tiny found a glimmer to relax and opted to give a slight tease to his commander to diffuse the tension in the cockpit. "Don't worry, commander. You'll be able to take her to a romantic restaurant tonight when we get the Maui."

He smirked and ran his palm over the flap controls. "I'll be making love with her tonight if we get us all out of here alive."

Tiny laughed, but groaned. "Oh, man. TMI. I did not need that image, man."

"You broached the topic, Tiny."

He suddenly became interested, contrary to his earlier protest. "Have you two ever…?"

"Nope."

"Never?"

"Nope."

The Tower entered the cockpit once more. "Aloha 243, we have visual. You're in line for landing, take her down to fifteen hundred and await further instructions."

"Nearly there, Mark," Tiny commented as he pulled back lightly on the throttle to slow their speed. "Air brakes, Commander?"

Mark shook his head. "I don't want to get her too slow that we can't pull out of it if she stalls. We'll have to rely on the rear thrusters once we're on the ground. If we drop the flaps now it might tear the plane apart."

"Need help toggling those thrust controls, Commander?"

Mark shook his head and drew in a long inhale as the ground rapidly approached. "Nah, I got it. You just make sure you can flip five switches at once. She's going to come down hard on the nose."

The tower buzzed through again. "Aloha 243, just to let you know. We have visual confirmation, you do have nose gear. Repeat. You have nose gear."

Mark smiled, Tiny gave a whoot. "Oh yeah, baby. Things are looking up." He slapped Mark on the shoulder. "Looks like you 'n'Prin might be …"

"Don't say it," Mark growled as he still struggled with the controls. "And let's save the party for when we're on the ground will you?"

Although his words seemed somewhat annoyed, Tiny could read the relief in them. He set his hands on the thruster controls and readied to extend the flaps completely once they touched down. "One fifty, Mark. You ready?"

Mark actually shook his head. "Nope."

"One Hundred," Tiny chanted, his eyes on the dials. "Fifty, pull up the nose, Skipper."

Mark didn't need the reminder, but didn't comment as he pulled the yoke back into his belly. He counted off the remaining feet to the ground and, as he reached ten feet, ordered his copilot to "drop everything, Tiny and get this girl to a stop."

It all happened so fast that Mark and Tiny were unsure if there was even time for their hearts to beat. The plane's wheels squealed as they made contact with the tarmac. The engines revved hard and whined as the rear thrusters roared to life. As their feet kicked down heavily on the brake pedals, both men were thrown forward against their restraints.

They both grit their teeth and groaned as their muscles locked taut against the resistance of the pedals. Even when the plane made it to a complete halt, both men still had their feet locked on the brakes.

It was only at the sound of applause from the cabin behind them that both of them finally relaxed. Mark killed the engines and slumped against the yoke as he held out his hand to Tiny in an invite to shake.

"As always, Tiny, it was a pleasure to fly at your side."

Tiny eagerly accepted the shake and gave Mark's had a tight squeeze of relief. "We make a Hell of a team, Mark."

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It was a fairly short five minutes before Tiny and Mark stepped onto a runway full of emergency personnel and weary passengers. Princess immediately launched herself across the tarmac to wrap herself around her Commander. She cried into his chest as she practically clutched the life out of him.

"Oh, Mark. I didn't think we were going to make it."

He reveled in the embrace and nuzzled his nose into her hair. "For a moment there I thought the same thing." He looked up at the airplane and found himself only clutching onto her harder. "My God."

The once proud and giant aircraft looked weak and defeated in front of him. Just shy of the cockpit doors and extending as long as the first class section, the entire roof had been torn away. He could see the legs of the chairs and the massive tears in the fuselage that arced downward as though teeth. Through the rips the horizontal support beams were clearly visible.

"God," he breathed as he passed a gaze to Tiny. "She was only hanging on by a thread."

"But she held it together to get us down, Skipper." He said softly. "That's one hell of a lady."

Mark rubbed at Princess's back as she shifted to his side and blew a kiss at the wounded bird he knew would be put to pasture as soon as the investigation was over. Already he could see incoming aircraft no doubt carrying members of the NTSB and knew that his time for vacation was likely over … before it had even begun.

"So much for a relaxing vacation, eh, Team?"

"Speaking of team," Tiny suddenly piped up. "Jason and Keyop?"

Princess smiled in pure relief. "Coastguard picked them up. They saved the girl. She's badly injured, but she'll survive."

Mark chuckled. "And will then probably date Jason."

Tiny chuckled. "Speaking of dates, Commander. Did you tell me you had a specific plan if we got through this in one piece?"

Mark's eyes widened as fast as the flush in his cheeks. "Oh. Yeah. But it looks like I'll be nose deep in this investigation for the next little while so…"

Tiny stopped him with a hard slap on the shoulder. "Oh no. I'll handle the ugly stuff here. You just go and …" he winked. "Have a vacation night with a special lady."

"Are you sure?"

Tiny gave a firm nod and scrunched his lips in a badly hidden smirk. "Oh. I'm sure, Mark. You deserve it – and so does she."

Princess looked between the two of them in complete surprise. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Mark smiled as he slowly led her toward a waiting vehicle. "But tell me, Princess. How would you like to fly with an Eagle?"


End file.
